West Indies win T20 series decider as England fall to Jason Holder

Two teams that had been inseparable for the majority of the match and indeed the series were explosively prised apart at the very last as Jason Holder took a sledgehammer to England’s victory chase by taking four wickets in the final four balls to seal victory by 17 runs.

Only three times before in T20 history had a bowler taken four wickets in as many balls, and this was a jaw-dropping end to a frequently thrilling series.

A career-best spell from Akeal Hosein, in which he took a wicket in each of his four overs to gradually whittle away England’s chances of victory in the middle overs, had set West Indies on the path to success and to a 3-2 win in a series of slender margins, fluctuating fortunes and constant intrigue.

England started the final over needing 20 to win, and when Holder’s first act was to deliver a front-foot no-ball the tourists’ task seemed achievable.

But from that moment on every player who got bat on ball only succeeded in lifting it to a fielder as Chris Jordan, Sam Billings and Adil Rashid fell, before Saqib Mahmood was bowled to end proceedings with a ball to spare.

A series that after a disappointing first match had gone on to deliver a succession of compelling and high-quality contests had reached its closing stages with the two sides simply refusing to be prised apart, tied as they were at 2-2 after four matches and with England, as West Indies had been earlier in the evening, at 86 for two after 10 overs, and James Vince on his way to a 35-ball 55 full of classy shot-making.

But while the hosts lost rhythm in the following phase of their innings, the tourists lost wickets.

Moeen Ali, who batted as if he had used up all his timing in compiling Saturday’s half-century, lifted the very next ball